Certified professional coder vs release of information specialist

The differences between certified professional coders and releases of information specialist can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a certified professional coder and a release of information specialist. Additionally, a certified professional coder has an average salary of $52,683, which is higher than the $45,891 average annual salary of a release of information specialist.

The top three skills for a certified professional coder include CPC, medical terminology and AAPC. The most important skills for a release of information specialist are patients, HIPAA, and customer service.

Certified professional coder vs release of information specialist overview

	Certified Professional Coder	Release Of Information Specialist
Yearly salary	$52,683	$45,891
Hourly rate	$25.33	$22.06
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	86,465	68,103
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 36%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	12	12

What does a certified professional coder do?

A certified professional coder oversees the daily medical coding operations of a medical facility, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations. They usually have the responsibility to provide coding to facilities, update databases, and conduct reviews and assessments to identify missing details or inconsistencies and perform corrective measures. Moreover, as a certified professional coder, it is essential to coordinate with external parties such as insurance providers and communicate with patients, assisting them by answering inquiries, explaining procedures, and solving issues and concerns if any would arise.

What does a release of information specialist do?

A release of information specialist is primarily in charge of retrieving and releasing data to qualified recipients while adhering to the guidelines and confidentiality protocols that aim to protect sensitive information. Although the extent of their responsibilities usually depends on their industry or company of employment, it usually includes maintaining records of procedures and transactions, preparing and processing documents, organizing files, producing progress reports to managers, and keeping an eye out for any inconsistencies, resolving them promptly and efficiently.

Certified professional coder vs release of information specialist salary

Certified professional coders and releases of information specialist have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Professional Coder	Release Of Information Specialist
Average salary	$52,683	$45,891
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $73,000	Between $23,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	Connecticut
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	Technology	Insurance

Differences between certified professional coder and release of information specialist education

There are a few differences between a certified professional coder and a release of information specialist in terms of educational background:

	Certified Professional Coder	Release Of Information Specialist
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 36%
Most common major	Health Care Administration	Health Care Administration
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Southern California

Certified professional coder vs release of information specialist demographics

Here are the differences between certified professional coders' and releases of information specialist' demographics:

	Certified Professional Coder	Release Of Information Specialist
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 8.9% Female, 91.1%	Male, 14.4% Female, 85.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 8.3% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 8.4% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between certified professional coder and release of information specialist duties and responsibilities

Certified professional coder example responsibilities.

Manage the outsourced transcription company.
Apply ICD-10-CM, CPT-4 codes and modifiers in accordance with federal regulations.
Validate DRG's for inpatient and inpatient RAC appeals as well as validating DRG changes.
Assist with insurance verification and registration, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Review, analyze, and code all ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM diagnoses.
Work all age reports for all Medicaid.

Release of information specialist example responsibilities.

Manage and track various holds on inventory: ship on quarantine; FDA hold; and quality hold.
Apply insurance knowledge to interpret EOB, all manage contracts and fee schedules for physician services and hospital services.
Generate reports for managing compliance with Medicaid documentation in support of electronic billing to MCO
Deliver customer service to patients and their families regarding access to their medical history information.
Assist clients with choosing a Medicaid HMO.
Handle Meditech requests then enter information into Esmartlog.

Certified professional coder vs release of information specialist skills

Common certified professional coder skills

CPC, 20%
Medical Terminology, 9%
AAPC, 8%
Patients, 7%
ICD-10-CM, 5%
E/M, 4%

Common release of information specialist skills

Patients, 24%
HIPAA, 16%
Customer Service, 6%
Medical Terminology, 5%
ROI, 5%
Hippa, 5%

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Certified Professional Coder vs Release Of Information Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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